One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most
important one,” answered Jesus, “is
this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength. The
second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment
greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the
law. Romans 13:8
Jesus
told us that if we love God with all we are and if we love others as ourselves,
we fulfill God’s commandments. God has placed His love in the hearts of those
who know Him. His love is our motivation and our encouragement, and we love Him
because He first loved us.
The Ten
Commandments are fulfilled in a life that learns to love with God’s love. The
commandments “do not steal” and “do not commit adultery”, for example, are obeyed
by the person who walks in love.
We can
grow in our love towards God and others. The Lord wants to enable us to shine
His love all around.
We will
stumble on this road towards love’s way, but Jesus can help us to grow in our
devotion towards Him and in our kindness towards others. When we fall we can
bounce back like falling onto a trampoline.
Love is
the way.
